I just read a new book,The Wisdom of the Rooms, by Michael Z. It's a wonderful book of weekly reflections with inspiring messages that can apply to anyone and everyone whether you have an addiction problem or not.
One of my favorite quotes from this book is "there are no victims, only volunteers - you always have a choice." How many of us have become victims in our lives at one time or another and voluntarily give up our power to a harmful vice, situation, or another person? Michael Z's words help us to hold the mirror up and face the truth so that we know it's in our power to choose differently.
Another favorite quote is "my mind is like a bad neighborhood - I don't go in it alone." This made me laugh out loud because there are days when I'm obsessed with my own disturbing thoughts and it would be better for me to get out of my own head, or take a muscle bound friend in with me to beat down the monsters!
So, I'm recommending this as a MUST READ! It's simple, yet chock full of wisdom in every room. Also, check out his website at www.theWisdomoftheRooms.com for more of his weekly quotes.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Nature vs. Nurture?
For several years I have been interested in criminal psychology and have pondered whether people are born "bad" or created by their environment. One of my guilty pleasures is reading psychological thrillers and one of my favorite authors of that genre is Jonathan Kellerman. However, lately I have been even more intrigued with the idea of nature vs. nurture. I've been reading "Evil Genes" by Barbara Oakley as well as another book about the personality similarites of several infamous serial killers. Both authors discuss the possibilities how "bad" people become the way that they are and the impact on society.
I have to admit that I am wondering why I'm so fascinated with this subject. But, I think that it boils down to wanting to understand the workings of the human mind and determining how much control, if any, we truly have over our emotions, personalities, reactions, good/bad behaviors, etc. It seems that we like to believe that we are such unique individuals in control of who we are and what we do; and, yet also like to attribute so much of our makeup to Aunt Jean or Great-Granpa Albert. How is it that most of us are driven to be good people and have such loud consciences that we can't possibly ignore? Yet, there are also those people in the world who couldn't care less about harming others and go out of their way to do so. Are we born with this or did we learn it from Uncle Pete?
The evidence seems to be some combination of the two, nature vs nurture, that make us who we are. Some people seem to be genetically pre-disposed to rage, poor judgment, and limited conscience. Add to that a dysfunctional family environment and a time bomb is created amongst us. The challenge is how do we recognize them before they wreak havoc on our society.
I have to admit that I am wondering why I'm so fascinated with this subject. But, I think that it boils down to wanting to understand the workings of the human mind and determining how much control, if any, we truly have over our emotions, personalities, reactions, good/bad behaviors, etc. It seems that we like to believe that we are such unique individuals in control of who we are and what we do; and, yet also like to attribute so much of our makeup to Aunt Jean or Great-Granpa Albert. How is it that most of us are driven to be good people and have such loud consciences that we can't possibly ignore? Yet, there are also those people in the world who couldn't care less about harming others and go out of their way to do so. Are we born with this or did we learn it from Uncle Pete?
The evidence seems to be some combination of the two, nature vs nurture, that make us who we are. Some people seem to be genetically pre-disposed to rage, poor judgment, and limited conscience. Add to that a dysfunctional family environment and a time bomb is created amongst us. The challenge is how do we recognize them before they wreak havoc on our society.
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